API Guide

Dell EMC Networking OS Security Hardening
The security of a network consists of multiple factors. Apart from access to the device, best practices, and implementing various security
features, security also lies with the integrity of the device. If the software itself is compromised, all of the aforementioned methods
become ineffective.
The Dell EMC Networking OS is enhanced verify whether the startup configuration file is altered before loading. This section explains how
to configure OS image and startup configuration verification.
Startup Configuration Verification
Dell EMC Networking OS comes with startup configuration verification feature. When enabled, it checks the integrity of the startup
configuration that the system uses while the system reboots and loads only if it is intact.
Important Points to Remember
• The startup configuration verification feature is disabled by default on the Dell EMC Networking OS.
• The feature is supported for startup configuration files stored in the local system only.
• The feature is not supported when the fastboot or the warmboot features are enabled on the system.
• If the startup configuration verification fails after a reload, the system does not load your startup configuration.
• After enabling the startup configuration verification feature, use the verified boot hash command to verify and store the hash
value. If you don’t store the hash value, you cannot reboot the device until you verify the image hash.
Dell EMC Networking OS Behavior after System Power-Cycle
If the system reboots due reasons such as power-cycle, the current startup configuration may be different than the one you verified the
hash using the verified boot hash command. When the system comes up, the system may use the last-verified startup
configuration.
Dell EMC Networking recommends backing up the startup configuration to a safe location after you use the verified boot hash
command. When the startup configuration verification fails, you can restore it from the backup.
The system continues to display a message stating that startup configuration verification failed. You can disable the startup configuration
feature either by disabling startup configuration verification or save the running configuration to the startup configuration and update the
hash for the startup configuration.
Enabling and Configuring Startup Configuration Hash Verification
To enable and configure startup configuration hash verification, follow these steps:
1. Enable the startup configuration hash verification feature.
CONFIGURATION mode
verified startup-config
2. Generate the hash checksum for your startup configuration file.
EXEC Privilege
generate hash {md5 | sha1 | sha256} {flash://filename | startup-config}
3. Verify the hash checksum of the current startup configuration on the local file system.
EXEC Privilege
verified boot hash startup—config hash-value
NOTE:
The verified boot hash command is only applicable for the startup configuration file in the local file
system.
After enabling and configuring startup configuration verification, the device verifies the hash checksum of the startup configuration during
every reload.
DellEMC# verified boot hash startup—config 619A8C1B7A2BC9692A221E2151B9DA9E
Security
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